Feb. 27, 2002

OKLAHOMA CITY - The UNLV men's and women's swimming teams got off to a good start on the first day of the 2002 Mountain West Conference Championships in Oklahoma City. The men's team holds second place with 93 points, while the women's team sits in fifth with 80 points.

The men's team opened the meet with a first place finish in the 200 medley relay. The team of David Schick, Bjorn Eriksson, Patrick Adams and Michael Short won in a time of 1:28.54. Their time was the second fastest in the history of the Mountain West Conference and a soft-cut for the NCAA Championships.

The women's team of Raluca Udroiu, Madalina Tin, Julie Unrau and Lorena Diaconescu followed with a first place finish of their own in 1:43.17. Their winning time was also a soft-cut for the NCAA Championships.

Diver Lucas Richmond led the men's diving team with a seventh place finish in the 1-meter. Fellow diver Josh Wallace took tenth place.

The women's team of Diaconescu, Dana Penn, Tamee Ebert and Alyson Noble finished the day with a win in the 800 free relay. Their time of 7:18.81 broke the school and conference records set the previous year by the team of Noble, Diaconescu, Alyson Reynolds and Unrau.

The men took second place behind BYU in the 800 free relay by only .49 seconds. The team of Jacint Simon, Quinten Allen, Schick and Andrew Livingston finished in a time of 6:35.95.

Competition continues Thursday with prelims starting at 11 a.m. Finals begin at 6 p.m.